Storm causes power failures

A strong storm dumped as much as three-quarters of an inch of
rain in the Valley Tuesday night, causing power outages and flooded
streets.

"It’s (rainfall) pretty uniform across the Valley," said Keith
Kincaid, a meteorological technician at the National Weather
Service’s office in Phoenix.

The bad weather was responsible for numerous power problems.

Arizona Public Service spokesman Damon Gross said the utility
saw about 2,000 customers without power near downtown Phoenix and
about 800 in Glendale. All but about 685 customers in downtown were
without power as of 8:30 p.m.

Gross said he expected the remaining customers left in the dark
would get their power back soon.

Salt River Project spokesman Jeff Lane said the utility saw
around 2,000 customers without power at the peak of the storm. He
said the outages were spread out as opposed to being clustered in
any one particular area. As of 9 p.m., he said most of the
utility’s customers had their power restored.

The Department of Public Safety discouraged traveling in
northern Arizona.

Interstates 17 and 40 in the Flagstaff area were snow-packed
Tuesday night, and visibility was very low due to the heavy snow
fall with windy conditions, DPS said.

Chains are highly recommended for travel through the area,
officials said. Disabled semi-trucks on the the interstates and
intermittently blocking traffic.

The storm is part of a series of weather systems that are
passing through the Valley this week.

The worst is expected to hit Thursday when experts predict
anywhere from one to three inches of precipitation.